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Austar IV
Austar IV is the fourth planet of a seven-planet rim system in the Erato Galaxy. Once a penal colony, marked KK29 on the convict map system, it is a semi-arid, metal-poor world with two moons. History: When Austar was first settled by convicts (or KKs as they called themselves) and guards from Earth in 2303, the Dragons were almost extinct. Several generations later the Austarians domesticated the few remaining dragons, selectively breeding them for meat and leather and the gaming arenas-or as they were known from earliest times, the pits. The dragon pits of Austar IV were more than just the main entertainment for early KKs. Over the years the pits became central to the Austarian economy. Betting syndicates developed, and Federation starship crews on long rim-world voyages began to frequent the planet on gambling forays. Becuase such gambling violated Galaxian law, illegal offworld gamesters were expelled in 2485 from Austar and impronised on Kk47. Under pressure from the Ferderation, the Austarians drafted a Protectorate constitution spelling out the Federation's administrative role in the economy of the planet, including regulation of the gambling of offworlders and the payment of taxes on gambling money in exchange for starship landing bases. A fluid caste system of masters and bond slaves-the remnats of the convict-guard hierarchy- was established by law, with a bond price set as an enterance fee into the master class. Established at the same time was the Senate, the members of which come exclusively from the master class. In the mid 2500s disgruntled bonders, angry at their low place in Austarian society and the inequities visted upon their class, began to foment a revolution, which broke into violent confrontations. The worst of these was the bombing of Rokk Major, the greatest gambling pit on the planet. Thirty-seven people were killed outright; twenty-three died of their wounded in the months that followed. Hundreds of other people, both Austarians and offworlders, were seriously injured. It was the begining of several years of internal conflict which, according to Federation rules, lef to the closing of Austar to Federation ships by means of a fifty-year embargo. This embargo was imposed in 2543 and kept all offical ships from landing, which meant that Austar IV was without sanctioned metal and technical assistance for that period of time. ﻿ Description: Austar IV is covered by vast deserts, some of which are cut through by small, irregularly surfacing hot springs, several small sections of fenlands, and zones of what were thought to be impenetrable mountains charted by biannual flights by Federation ships. There are only five major rivers; the Narrakka, the Rokk, the Brokk-bend, the Kkar, and the Left Forkk. Plantlife: Few plants grow in the deserts; some fruit cacti and sparse long-trunked palm trees known as spikka. The two most populous plants on Austar IV are two wild-flowering bushes called burnwort and blisterweed. The mountain vegatation is varied and includes edible fungi, berry bushes, and a low oily grass called skkagg. Animal life: There is a variety of insect and pseudo-lizard life, the latter ranging from small rock runners to elephant-sized dragons. Unlike Earth reptilia, the Austarian dragon-lizards are warm-blooded, with pneumaticized bones for reduction of weight and a keeled sternum where the flight muscles are attached. They have membranous wings with jointed ribs that fold back along the animals' bodies when the dragons are earthbound. Streched to its fullest, an adult dragon's wings are twice its body size. The "feathers" are actually light scales which adjust to wind pressure. From claw to shoulder, some specimens of Austarian dragons have been measured at thirteen feet. ﻿ Category:Planet Category:Locations